Hey ya'll, it's Emma again! So it’s been five weeks since we started this program, and I’ve learned more about Durham than I thought I could. So after weeks of taking the BCC and walking around downtown, this portion comes to an end and I am forced to wrap up this experience. I’ve had the chance to explore this city that I didn’t really know even after living here for a year. The Durham Bulls game was something that was very interesting to me. I knew the Durham Bulls were a minor league baseball team, and I did not think that there would be so much support from the local community for a minor league game, but seeing how hundreds of people gathered around this team is indicative of what we’ve been learning about Durham during our time here. I guess this goes back to the discussion about a single story. Assuming that Durham is this place with all the accolades and forgetting about the parts of the community that are not mentioned in the magazines is easy.
Recently we went to a luncheon in East Durham held by the Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham. There we saw and heard the stories of those who lived in the community. Quickly the conversation turned heated and became about race relations between outsiders and the community. Several people told stories about the racism they faced everyday and how it made it hard for them to try and move on in the community. It was interesting for me because I know from the time I arrived in Durham people held a single story about the community of East Durham. I learned from that lunch that all the people who lived there want is to know their children are going to receive the education they need to excel in life and the same advantages are their middle class counterparts. They have the same fears that any parent has and I think it’s unfair for people to hold the assumptions about this part of the city based off of what they hear and not what they have experienced. Throughout this summer, I have learned that Durham is a series of stories. We have to remember to be more accepting and open to these stories and not quick to forget this.
Recently we went to a luncheon in East Durham held by the Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham. There we saw and heard the stories of those who lived in the community. Quickly the conversation turned heated and became about race relations between outsiders and the community. Several people told stories about the racism they faced everyday and how it made it hard for them to try and move on in the community. It was interesting for me because I know from the time I arrived in Durham people held a single story about the community of East Durham. I learned from that lunch that all the people who lived there want is to know their children are going to receive the education they need to excel in life and the same advantages are their middle class counterparts. They have the same fears that any parent has and I think it’s unfair for people to hold the assumptions about this part of the city based off of what they hear and not what they have experienced. Throughout this summer, I have learned that Durham is a series of stories. We have to remember to be more accepting and open to these stories and not quick to forget this.